The final Wolverine film was critically strong, but lacked the elements that made the X-Men films enjoyable.
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.
I have always loved the X-Men franchise, it’s my favourite when it comes to the superhero films. I even enjoyed The Wolverine and X-Men: Wolverine Origins. When it was announced Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart were leaving their iconic roles I was excited about the final outing. I knew it was always going to be different, but this is such a far cry from any superhero film we’ve seen it felt wrong.
The tone of the movie is dark, perhaps the darkest superhero film ever and the violence, while necessary is excessive. The characters seem hardly related to the ones we were first introduced to in 2000. While I was watching the film it struck me that this was more of an “awards film” than some of the actual movies nominated for the Oscars.
Hugh Jackman’s performance is outstanding, as is Patrick Stewart’s and 11 year old Dafne Keen’s. Richard E. Grant and Stephen Merchant round out the strong leading cast. The script is good, it’s very difficult to fault, which is rare for a superhero film. The visual effects are outstanding and James Mangold’s directorial style is superb.
It really comes down to the fact I had expectations (which one should never have entering a film) and this was just a really different movie. If you’re expecting anything like you’ve seen before this isn’t it. This isn’t X-Men 4 by any stretch of the imagination. It’s soul crushing, gut-wrenchingly sad and touching. This is a new level of depth and intensity for a superhero film, but it takes all the fun out of it.
Overall critically the best superhero movie ever, but it lacks any sense of enjoyment.
3 Stars
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Screening courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Comments